I'm David Rosenthal, and this is a place to discuss the work I'm doing in Digital Preservation.

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Cloud lock-in

Back in June I used the demise of Google Reader to list a number of business issues with using third-party cloud storage services for long-term digital preservation. Scott Gilbertson was one of the users who were left high and dry. He has an interesting piece at The Register about the process of recovering from the loss of Reader. He starts from the well-known but very apt quote:

If you're not paying for something, you're not the customer; you're the product being sold.

then points out that:

Just because you are paying companies like Google, Apple or Microsoft you might feel they are, some how, beholden to you. The
companies are actually beholden only to their stockholders whose
interests may or may not be aligned with your own, so will change
services accordingly.

and, after pointing out how easy it is these days for users to run cloud-like services for themselves, ends up concluding:

Along with security, one of the most difficult issues with cloud
platforms is the risk of vendor lock-in. By assigning business processes
and data to cloud service providers, it may get really messy and
expensive to attempt to dislodge from the arrangement if it's time to
make a change.
The guide, compiled by a team led by Kapil Bakshi and Mark Skilton,
provides key pointers for enterprises seeking to develop independently
functioning clouds, as well as recommendations to the industry on
standards that need to be adopted or extended.

It is mainly about
avoiding getting locked-in to a vendor of cloud computing services
rather than cloud storage services, so its focus is on open, standard
interfaces to such services. But the main message of both pieces is that any time you are using cloud services, you need an up-to-date, fully costed exit strategy. Trying to come up with an exit strategy when you're given 13 days notice that you need one is guaranteed to be an expensive disaster.